Sky-Supporting Swordsman (Part 2)

Early that morning, the people of Yanjing City watched in terror as more than five thousand fully armed soldiers, led by a young man, ran several circuits from south to north and west to east through the city. They then stormed out through Yanjing City's main southern gate and charged toward a military camp. Dressed in the robes of a princely heir, Zhu Xi followed closely behind Li Feng on horseback, his face as dark as iron, guarded by several eunuchs as they rushed toward Murong Tian's encampment.

Murong Tian's camp was surrounded by two layers of wooden palisades. Seeing a large force charging toward them with murderous intent, the sentries at the gate shuddered and hurried to lower the wooden barrier. At the same time, they blew sharp horn calls to raise the alarm throughout the camp.

Li Feng had already drawn the Dragon Spring Sword. In a single leap, he crossed eighteen zhang, then brought his sword down in a "Mount Hua Splitting Blow" at the camp gates. A Sword Qi five zhang long howled forth, smashing the gates, built from logs as thick as a man's waist, into splinters with one strike. In the cold wind, the Sword Qi swept up countless snowflakes and crashed into the sentries. More than a hundred sentries gave muffled groans as Li Feng's immense inner force blasted them away. They struck the snow heavily and could not rise for a long while.

Li Feng let out a fierce shout. "Murong Tian, you brat! Release Brother Dugu, and hand over those scum under your command who plundered and ravished others! Otherwise, this will not end today!" The Dragon Spring Sword in his hand pointed diagonally at the heavens, and a towering Sword Qi shot upward. His left hand remained concealed within his sleeve, forming the hand seal for the Wind Control Art. A chill wind spiraled upward along his Sword Qi, while countless snowflakes swirled and danced in it like a white dragon. Li Feng seemed to be gripping that dragon by the tail as it twisted and struggled in the sky.

Zhu Xi's mind was utterly shaken. How could he have known that Li Feng was merely playing a little trick? He clapped and praised him. "Wonderful! That can truly be called a sword that supports the heavens." The Sword Qi was simply too terrifying. It surged more than ten zhang into the air and, wrapped in cold wind and snowflakes, seemed nearly a zhang thick. Who had ever seen such monstrously powerful Sword Qi? Zhu Xi immediately made up his mind. Excellent. Li Feng is a talent. That fool Dugu Sheng can be made deputy commander, while Li Feng becomes the commander. Mm, I'll also give him the position of chief of external affairs. Little Li can manage internal matters, and he can oversee external matters. Wonderful.

Thunderous footsteps rose as ten thousand Ironclad Army soldiers, directed by several generals, rushed in from all four directions and surrounded Li Feng's group completely. With a thunderous roar of "Ha!" the ten thousand soldiers presented their spears and took two steps forward. Murong Tian, holding a battle sword and clad in heavy armor, swept through the air from behind the military formation. His long hair was unbound, flying wildly in the cold wind, and his entire bearing was like that of a demon god. He shouted, "What audacity! You dare besiege the Northern Camp? Are you tired of liv—ah, Your Highness." Murong Tian suddenly spotted Zhu Xi sitting atop his horse with a frosty expression, and hurriedly cupped his hands in salute.

Li Feng shouted, "Brothers, get ready!"

The guard unit he had brought was also a well-trained elite force. Hearing Li Feng's howl, they immediately formed into a square formation and enclosed Zhu Xi within it. Then powerful bows and heavy crossbows appeared in their hands at the same time. With a swish, those long-range killing weapons were aimed precisely at the surrounding soldiers, their fellow servicemen.

Murong Tian was horrified. He had never expected Li Feng to dare mobilize bows and crossbows without authorization. He roared angrily, "Li Feng, are you trying to rebel?"

Li Feng suddenly pointed his sword at Murong Tian and shouted, "Murong Tian, you bastard!" Murong Tian's face turned green with rage, but Li Feng had already begun roaring, "Fuck your mother! I'm rebelling with five thousand men? Do you take me for an idiot? The First Prince is right here—how dare you accuse me of rebellion? Where does that put the First Prince?"

Zhu Xi's face darkened as he gave the order. "Murong Tian, release the guards from my residence, as well as Lei Zhenyuan, who violated a civilian girl while drunk. Otherwise, this will not end today... Hey! You bunch of bastards, don't you know who I am? How dare you point weapons at me?" Zhu Xi produced a jade command token carved with a coiling dragon and displayed it to those around him. The soldiers surrounding Li Feng's group immediately fell into confusion. Some had already lowered their weapons, but when they saw that Murong Tian had not moved, they raised their weapons toward Zhu Xi again.

Li Feng saw many bold citizens emerging from Yanjing City in groups to watch the excitement. He immediately gathered his True Essence and began shouting curses at the top of his lungs. "Murong Tian! Your command is lax! Your subordinate Lei Zhenyuan violated a girl at the Drunken Fragrance Tower while drunk, beat innocent people, and was seized by the guards of my residence after they stopped him. We merely intended to hand him over to the commander's office at dawn for punishment. Yet you relied on force to seize that villain Lei Zhenyuan and arrested the guards from my residence, intending to kill them to silence them! Is that not the truth?"

Murong Tian was frantic with rage. He howled furiously, "Utter nonsense! Pure slander... General Lei Zhenyuan is—"

Before he could finish, Li Feng had already charged forward with his sword, thrusting at Murong Tian's throat. He said coldly, "Why else would he have gone to a brothel for no reason? Whether he is guilty can be determined simply by bringing over the brothel owner for questioning. You privately mobilized troops and seized my guards—that alone violates military regulations."

Murong Tian was beside himself. Originally, seeing that Zhu Xi had newly recruited Li Feng, he had merely intended to give Li Feng a habitual beating, humiliate Zhu Xi's residence properly, and earn some merit before Zhu Geng. Who could have expected Li Feng to refuse to play by common sense or the codes of the martial world? He framed others, planted evidence, and would stop at nothing. With ease, he had dumped a chamber pot right onto Murong Tian's head. Worse still, he had indeed mobilized soldiers to seize people first—something he could never explain away. A bellyful of evil fire surged up within him.

No longer caring about consequences, he drew his sword. His battle sword was twice as thick, three times as broad, and two chi longer than Li Feng's Dragon Spring Sword. It carved an arc through the air, carrying a biting Killing Intent as it chopped down at Li Feng's head. Li Feng smiled. Though he had secretly learned the Mount Hua Seven Absolutes Sword Style, he had never practiced it. If they were simply comparing swordsmanship, even a third-rate martial world swordsman could knock him flat. But Murong Tian's sword style was broad and forceful, filled with the momentum of charging through enemy formations. It suited Li Feng perfectly.

Li Feng's incomparably slender Dragon Spring Sword met it head-on, carrying his formidable True Essence as it struck against the enormous battle sword. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! A string of thunderous crashes rang out. Li Feng's True Essence was powerful to the extreme, and despite wielding such a disadvantaged sword, he forced a lively clash with Murong Tian's massive blade. Murong Tian possessed astonishing strength in both arms, and his Cultivation Methods followed a fierce, masculine path. Seeing Li Feng dare to trade sword blows with him, a wave of stubborn defiance rose in his heart. He resolved to cleave the Dragon Spring Sword apart.

Thus, the two stood where they were like two black bears fighting, their feet rooted motionless as they swung their swords and hacked savagely at each other. Their blades collided again and again, scattering sparks. This was no longer a battle of techniques or tricks. It was purely a contest of strength, the depth of one's True Essence, whose stamina was greater, and whose meridians could endure longer.

Li Feng's Qi Refining formula came from the Yiyuan Sect and was an immortal family's wondrous art. After merely six years of cultivation, he had already entered the supreme Innate Realm. Especially after making another tremendous breakthrough the night before, his True Essence showed no danger of running dry. His body had also been tempered by the vitality of heaven and earth until it was incomparably tough. Added to that was the medicinal refinement from the Yiyuan Sect's tens of thousands of jin of spiritual herbs. His body could now be described as jade bones and qi muscles. His bones were smooth and firm as fine jade, while his muscles were resilient and pliant as flowing air, lively and fluid.

And how could Murong Tian have become Zhu Geng's foremost general by sheer luck? He had cultivated bitterly since childhood, tempering his natal True Essence for more than twenty years. His body had been crazily hardened amid military life. Although his True Essence had not reached the Innate Realm, its sheer power was astonishing, while his body could be called sinews of steel and bones of iron. On top of that, he had been born with divine strength. A casual swing of his arms held a thousand jin of force, making him a perfect match for Li Feng.

Li Feng was unwilling to use his full strength, while Murong Tian's own power was exceptionally formidable. The two therefore fought to a standstill. All anyone could see in the field were sparks flying in every direction and fierce winds shooting outward. The pair struck like smiths hammering iron, each wishing to chop the other into pieces.

The watching citizens began whispering among themselves. "Look! That young fellow can fight General Murong to a draw!"

"Exactly, exactly! General Murong is Yanjing City's greatest swordsman, yet he can actually fight this young man evenly. This lad is truly formidable."

"Not so, not so. That young man clearly has the upper hand. His weapon is obviously at a severe disadvantage. A treasured sword of barely three chi can collide head-on with a five-chi greatsword. His strength is a notch greater."

"What nonsense! How could General Murong possibly be suppressed by that brat?"

Li Feng's ears were sharp as a thief's. Hearing the citizens shouting nearby, an idea immediately came to him. Murong Tian is your idol? Then I'll smash this idol to pieces. He laughed loudly. "Murong Tian, brat, do you dare trade a thousand hard blows with me? Whoever dodges is raised by a woman." Li Feng sneered inwardly. I was raised by a woman to begin with. You cannot dodge, but I can.

Sure enough, Murong Tian roared, "Fine! Whoever dodges is raised by a woman!" He drew a deep breath, planted himself firmly in a horse stance, raised his sword over his head, and chopped downward. Even more adorably, this fierce general actually began counting aloud. "One..."

Li Feng burst into wild laughter. He too brought his sword down, roaring, "One..."

Both men exerted all their strength and began hacking madly at each other once more. Gradually, they had exchanged over a hundred blows. Murong Tian had already fallen into a fixed pattern of thought, honestly following Li Feng's method and chopping down wildly blow after blow. How could he think of anything else? He had no intention of losing to an obscure nobody like Li Feng. Especially since Li Feng displayed none of a swordsman's bearing at all—he was the very image of a street thug. If he lost to Li Feng, Murong Tian would be utterly disgraced.

Seeing that Murong Tian's spirit and qi had fused together, and that after more than a hundred savage chops he had mobilized all the True Essence in his body, each of his strikes becoming heavier than the last, Li Feng's face immediately revealed a strange smile. When Murong Tian delivered another crushing chop, Li Feng, who should have raised his sword to meet it, suddenly shifted sideways by one step and drove his right foot into Murong Tian's lower abdomen.

Murong Tian's sword struck empty air. He had put every last bit of True Essence into that blow without holding back any strength at all. How could he possibly withdraw it? His heart screamed, Not good! His mouth shouted, "Despicable—" But his sword had already sunk into the snow, and Li Feng's kick had landed squarely on his lower abdomen.

Li Feng struck mercilessly, using a full sixty percent of the True Essence in his body. Murong Tian's thick interlocking fish-scale chainmail shattered at once, and his protective True Essence was broken by that kick. His body rolled through the snow like a ball for seven or eight zhang. Clutching his abdomen, Murong Tian could not utter a word. His face was pale as death. It felt as though an iron stake had been driven into his belly—aching, agonizing, swollen, distended, numb. All his organs seemed to cramp together, as if a cauldron of boiling oil had been poured into them.

Murong Tian kept reminding himself, Don't cough blood. Don't cough blood. If I cough up this mouthful of blood, at least three years of hard cultivation will be lost... Heavens, I absolutely must not cough blood. Yet that sweet, fishy taste had already reached his throat. In the end, he still spat out a mouthful of blood. Furious and wracked with pain, Murong Tian let out a wild roar.

Murong Tian's subordinates erupted in uproar. They gripped their weapons and took three fierce steps forward. The generals threw themselves to Murong Tian's side, helped him up, and forced the army's secret Life-Preserving Heavenly King Pill down his throat as though feeding him a meal. One general brandished an iron hammer, charged forward several steps, and cursed loudly, "You little bastard, what shameless tactics!"

Li Feng rolled his eyes, his street-ruffian nature laid bare. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey? Who are you calling a little bastard?"

The general roared, "I'm calling you a little bastard!"

Li Feng jumped up and shouted wildly, "Wonderful! The fucking little bastard is calling me! Damn it, are you soldiers or not? Are you generals or not? When you fight a war, do you expect your enemies to face you head-on every day? If war were that simple, why would you study The Art of War and Guiguzi? To chase women? This is strategy, strategy, understand?"

The general was so enraged that the Three Corpses Gods leaped in fury. True enough, war required strategy, schemes, and trickery. But Murong Tian and Li Feng had just been competing in martial skill. By the rules of the martial world, violating the terms of such a contest deserved contempt. Yet the general was clumsy with words—how could he possibly outtalk Li Feng? Li Feng's mouth rattled off over a thousand words like a repeating crossbow, while the general had not even managed a single grunt.

Zhu Xi chose that moment perfectly to add fuel to the fire. He clapped and laughed loudly. "Good, good, good! So even Murong Tian, invincible in Yanjing, has a day like this? A Feng, that sword strike of yours just now was truly a sword that supported the heavens. I'll give you a nickname: the Sky-Supporting Swordsman. Hahaha! Murong Tian, don't you call yourself the 'Mountain-Breaking Sword'? When you meet A Feng's 'Sky-Supporting Sword,' don't you still end up swallowing a turtle?"

For once, Li Feng's face reddened slightly. Zhu Xi, meanwhile, remained atop his horse, clapping and laughing at him without end.

Murong Tian's subordinates around them were nearly driven mad. Several rough-tempered generals gave a great shout and ordered the soldiers to advance in large strides, preparing to attack the five thousand troops under Zhu Xi's command. Li Feng glared and roared domineeringly, "Brothers, they've raised their blades to kill you! Are you going to let them slaughter you for nothing? Damn it, fellow townspeople, bear witness! We have been driven into a corner—we are defending ourselves because we have no choice... Brothers, prepare..."

The encircled soldiers also had fire in their hearts. Murong Tian, in the past you relied on your martial strength and the Second Prince's influence, letting your subordinates bully the soldiers of our unit at will. Why did we never get angry then? Today, when we finally managed to knock down your arrogance, you actually mobilized troops to attack us? Damn it, we aren't easy to bully either... Now that this brother—ah, Brother Li Feng—is leading us, we won't fear you, Murong Tian, anymore. Damn it, if we fight, we fight. If we die, we die together. Are we supposed to let you cut us down for nothing?

With their hearts hardened, the soldiers immediately raised their bows and crossbows, aiming them at the troops gradually pressing in from all sides. Anyone could see that, though the surrounding soldiers wore armor, at such close range how could they withstand heavy crossbow fire? They had not even prepared shields. At this distance, once Li Feng gave the command, a tragedy of blood flowing like a river would unfold.

The surrounding citizens had already begun fleeing in panic. If more than ten thousand soldiers truly began slaughtering one another, that would be no joke. Watching a spectacle only to watch one's own life disappear was hardly a bargain.

Murong Tian sat collapsed there, clutching his abdomen, his heart filled with urgency. He wanted to stop his subordinate generals, but he could not utter a word. How could he possibly restrain them? He knew full well that Li Feng was a rogue to the extreme. If provoked, he truly would dare to order the arrows fired. This was infighting within their own ranks. If Prince of Yan did not fly into a murderous rage over it, that would be strange. Zhu Xi was the First Heir, so naturally he would be fine. Li Feng could run away at any time—where would anyone even go to catch him? Naturally, he would also be fine. Only Murong Tian would certainly face a capital crime.

Cold sweat covered Murong Tian's body. This matter had grown far too serious, especially since Li Feng had firmly pinned Lei Zhenyuan's crimes upon them. Once Prince of Yan pursued the matter, Murong Tian would definitely be the one to suffer.

The weapons in the hands of Murong Tian's subordinate generals gradually rose. They were about to give the order to attack, while Li Feng's face had turned iron-blue. His right hand was raised high, ready to order the shooting. They were not his brothers anyway. Even if every one of these soldiers died, he would not feel any heartache.

At last, with a command, the soldiers around them charged forward in great strides. Li Feng's face twisted as he watched the immense momentum of ten thousand men charging, and he was about to open his mouth and give the order.

At that moment, a voice full of powerful inner force rang out, making everyone's ears go numb. "All of you, stop! Whoever dares make a move, I will exterminate his entire household."

Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, had finally arrived.